Why Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Siege Of Mandalore Will Deliver A 'Proper End' For Ahsoka
Spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7, called “Together Again.”
The Clone Wars has officially wrapped the second and penultimate arc of the final season, with “Together Again” ending with Bo-Katan recruiting Ahsoka to depart from the Martez sisters and journey to Mandalore with the threat of Maul on the horizon yet again. The Siege of Mandalore arc is only a week away from kicking off on Disney+ and beginning the end of The Clone Wars. Ashley Eckstein, who has been voicing Ahsoka throughout the eras of the Star Wars saga, spoke about the Siege of Mandalore and the ending it presents for her character.
Ashley Eckstein viewed the completed Siege of Mandalore arc before chatting with CinemaBlend about all things Clone Wars, and she teased Ahsoka’s ending when asked why the Siege of Mandalore arc is the fitting way to close the series:
As Clone Wars fans undoubtedly remember, Ahsoka actually departed a season before the series was initially cancelled. After choosing to leave the Jedi life behind at the end of Season 5, she was absent from Season 6 but intended to return for the grand finale. With the Disney+ revival allowing the Clone Wars team to finish the story that was always meant to be told, Ahsoka is getting a “proper ending,” according to Ashley Eckstein.
The good news for fans is that Ahsoka, much like Captain Rex, is one character not to have to worry too much about in the Siege of Mandalore arc. Thanks to Star Wars Rebels, the Star Wars saga has revealed that Ahsoka still has a part to play in the years following the rise of the Empire. The missing piece of the Ahsoka puzzle has just been how she got from the young Jedi who walked away from the Order to who she was when she made her Rebels debut, and the Siege of Mandalore will fill in that blank.
While Ashley Eckstein didn’t spoil what to expect with the Siege of Mandalore, she did tease a battle that will be positively “epic,” saying this:
The trailer only showed brief flashes of the Siege of Mandalore, but even those glimpses were enough to guarantee that The Clone Wars is ending on something much grander than usual. And according to Ashley Ecksttein, it will also be “even crazier” than ever before, which is saying something when it comes to The Clone Wars!
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In addition to revisiting the Mandalorians (well ahead of the days of The Mandalorian) and Mandalore itself, the Siege of Mandalore brings back Maul, who had a brief appearance in “Together Again,” and seemed to sense Ahsoka’s presence even via hologram. The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni previously revealed (via StarWars.com) that Ahsoka and Maul will face off in a duel that "had to be among the best [duels], if not the best, we ever did.”
Given that Ahsoka was also part of an unforgettable lightsaber duel in Star Wars Rebels, I had to ask Ashley Eckstein how the battle with Maul will compare with the duel against Vader in Rebels. (Warning: light spoilers ahead for Star Wars Rebels, if you haven’t hit that point in your Star Wars TV watch just yet.) Eckstein explained:
Fans shouldn’t expect Ahsoka vs. Maul to just be an early version of Ahsoka vs. Vader! They should also prepare for an emotional ride, based on what Ashley Eckstein had to tease about the Siege of Mandalore. The Clone Wars finale may change how some characters are thought of, which makes sense considering the fast approach to Revenge of the Sith and Order 66 in the Clone Wars timeline.
Find out how the Siege of Mandalore arc finally wraps up the story of Star Wars: The Clone Wars with new episodes releasing Fridays on Disney+. The trailer promises plenty of intensity that wasn’t included in the Bad Batch or Martez sisters arcs of Season 7 (as well as a Star Wars Rebels cameo sure to delight saga fans), so be sure to check the final episodes out.
Ashley Eckstein also wrote a book focusing on Ahsoka that’s available now and can deliver another fix of Anakin’s former Padawan with the end of Clone Wars nigh, and Ahsoka will be back (albeit in a new form) in another Star Wars series. For some additional viewing options not set in the galaxy far, far away, be sure to check out our 2020 midseason premiere schedule.
Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).